Startups

AT&T talks driving innovation through collaboration at Disrupt

Comment

We’re just a few short weeks away from the first in-person TechCrunch Disrupt in three years. The agenda is absolutely bursting with expert insight and information from the leading voices in the early-stage startup universe.

We want to take a moment to highlight a session led by our title sponsor, AT&T, who helps more than 100 million people in the U.S. connect in meaningful ways every day. Great partners make Disrupt possible, but they do more than just write a check. They show up and deliver information and resources that help early-stage founders succeed and grow.

That’s why we’re excited to share that Jeremy Legg, the chief technology officer at AT&T, will take the TechCrunch+ stage — along with Boddle Learning founders, Edna Martinson and Clarence Tan.

In a session called “Framing Innovation Through Collaborations Big and Small,” the panelists will discuss connectivity and the essential role it plays in driving innovation, opportunity and growth. You’ll also learn how AT&T collaborates with startups at every stage and hear from Martinson and Tan about their real-world collaboration experience and what it’s done for their business.

Jeremy Legg oversees the AT&T Technology Services (ATS) organization for business, consumer, data and analytics, IT and cloud, network architecture and AT&T Labs, security and new product development.

Legg’s organization is helping the company modernize its legacy IT infrastructure and migrate as much of it as possible to the cloud while retiring outdated systems. His team also includes business and consumer technology platforms, as well as experts developing new products and services built on AT&T’s leading-edge 5G and fiber connectivity.

Prior to joining AT&T, Legg served as executive vice president and CTO for WarnerMedia, where he was responsible for all technology strategy, development and operations, as well as the technology development of the video streaming platform HBO Max.

Edna Martinson is the co-founder of Boddle Learning — a gamified learning platform that helps K–6 teachers deliver engaging and adaptive math practice and assessments using gameplay and AI. The award-winning platform has served more than 2.5 million students and supports thousands of classrooms across the U.S.

Originally from Ghana, West Africa, Martinson came to the U.S. at the age of 16 to pursue her BS in international business. She also holds an MBA from the University of Missouri. A Forbes Next 1000 recipient, Martinson is a big believer in the importance of solid education at a young age. Her desire to help young kids succeed academically fuels her passion for the edtech space.

Martinson’s bold and visionary leadership stems from a strong background in building business relationships, executing on growth-hacking strategies, and building strong teams.

Clarence Tan is a co-founder of Boddle Learning — a gaming platform for children. Used by more than 2.5 million kids, Boddle makes learning seriously fun both in and outside the classroom.

Tan has over 10 years of experience designing games and user experience in the kid and learning space. He also speaks on classroom gamification for KCPT, the Kansas City PBS station, and at educational conferences such as International Society for Technology in Education, Learnfest and SXSW EDU.

Tan dedicates his work to creating engaging experiences that improve student outcomes in the K–12 space.

In addition to this talk, AT&T will be hosting several video breaks for attendees that share innovative tools and information to help startups grow.

TechCrunch Disrupt takes place on October 18–20. Buy your pass today.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

 

More TechCrunch

In a series of posts on X on Thursday, Paul Graham, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, brushed off claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was pressured to resign…

Paul Graham claims Sam Altman wasn’t fired from Y Combinator

In its three-year history, EthonAI has amassed some fairly high-profile customers including Siemens and chocolate-maker Lindt.

AI manufacturing startup funding is on a tear as Switzerland’s EthonAI raises $16.5M

Don’t miss out: TechCrunch Disrupt early-bird pricing ends in 48 hours! The countdown is on! With only 48 hours left, the early-bird pricing for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 will end on…

Ticktock! 48 hours left to nab your early-bird tickets for Disrupt 2024

Biotech startup Valar Labs has built a tool that accurately predicts certain treatment outcomes, potentially saving precious time for patients.

Valar Labs debuts AI-powered cancer care prediction tool and secures $22M

Archer Aviation is partnering with ride-hailing and parking company Kakao Mobility to bring electric air taxi flights to South Korea starting in 2026, if the company can get its aircraft…

Archer, Kakao Mobility partner to bring electric air taxis to South Korea in 2026

Space startup Basalt Technologies started in a shed behind a Los Angeles dentist’s office, but things have escalated quickly: soon it will try to “hack” a derelict satellite and install…

Basalt plans to “hack” a defunct satellite to install its space-specific OS

As a teen model, Katrin Kaurov became financially independent at a young age. Aleksandra Medina, whom she met at NYU Abu Dhabi, also learned to manage money early on. The…

Former teen model co-created app Frich to help Gen Z be more realistic about finances

Can an AI help you tell your story? That’s the idea behind a startup called Autobiographer, which leverages AI technology to engage users in meaningful conversations about the events in…

Autobiographer’s app uses AI to help you tell your life story

AI-powered summaries of webpages are a feature that you will find in many AI-centric tools these days. The next step for some of these tools is to prepare detailed and…

Perplexity AI’s new feature will turn your searches into shareable pages

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved…

ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

A surge of battery recycling startups have emerged in Europe in a bid to tap into the next big opportunity in the EV market: battery waste.  Among them is Cylib,…

Cylib wants to own EV battery recycling in Europe

Amazon has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly its delivery drones longer distances, the company announced on Thursday. Amazon says it can now expand its…

Amazon gets FAA approval to expand US drone deliveries

With Plannin, creators can tell their audience about their latest trip, which hotels they liked and post photos of their travels.

Former Priceline execs debut Plannin, a booking platform that uses travel influencers to help plan trips

Amazon is rolling out its AI voice search feature to Alexa, which lets it answer open-ended questions about content.

Amazon is rolling out AI voice search to Fire TV devices

Redpanda has already integrated Benthos into its own service and has made it the core technology of its new Redpanda Connect service.

Redpanda acquires Benthos to expand its end-to-end streaming data platform

It’s a lofty goal to take on legacy payments infrastructure, however, Forward’s model has an advantage by shifting the economics back to SaaS companies.

Fintech startup Forward grabs $16M to take on Stripe, lead future of integrated payments

Fertility remains a pressing concern around the world — birthrates are down in many countries, and infertility rates (that is, the ability to conceive at all) are up. And given…

Rhea reaps $10M more led by Thiel

Microsoft, Meta, Intel, AMD and others have formed a new group to design next-gen interconnects for AI accelerator hardware.

Tech giants form an industry group to help develop next-gen AI chip components

With JioFinance, the Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani is making his boldest consumer-facing move yet into financial services.

Ambani’s Reliance fires opening salvo in fintech battle, launches JioFinance app

Salespeople live and die by commissions. It’s no surprise, then, that Salesforce paid a premium to buy a platform that simplifies managing commissions.

Filing shows Salesforce paid $419M to buy Spiff in February

YoLa Fresh works with over a thousand retailers across Morocco and records up to $1 million in gross merchandise volume.

YoLa Fresh, a GrubMarket for Morocco, digs up $7M to connect farmers with food sellers

Instagram is expanding the scope of its “Limits” tool specifically for teenagers that would let them restrict unwanted interactions with people.

Instagram now lets teens limit interactions to their ‘Close Friends’ group to combat harassment

Agritech company Iyris helps growers across eleven countries globally increase crop yields, reduce input costs, and extend growing seasons.

Iyris makes fresh produce easier to grow in difficult climates, raises $16M

Exactly.ai says it uses generative AI to help artists retain legal ownership of their art while being able to reproduce their designs faster and at scale.

Exactly.ai secures $4M to help artists use AI to scale up their output

FintechOS competes with other companies such as Ncino, Meridian Link, Abrigo and Backbase.

Romanian startup FintechOS raises $60M to help old banks fight back against neobanks

After two years of preparation and four delays over the past several months due to technical glitches, Indian space startup Agnikul has successfully launched its first sub-orbital test vehicle, powered…

India’s Agnikul launches 3D-printed rocket in sub-orbital test after initial delays

Struggling EV startup Fisker has laid off hundreds of employees in a bid to stay alive, as it continues to search for funding, a buyout or prepare for bankruptcy. Workers…

Fisker cuts hundreds of workers in bid to keep EV startup alive

Chinese EV manufacturers face a new challenge in their pursuit of U.S. customers: a new House bill that would limit or ban the introduction of their connected vehicles. The bill,…

Chinese EV makers, and their connected vehicles, targeted by new House bill

With the release of iOS 18 later this year, Apple may again borrow ideas third-party apps. This time it’s Arc that could be among those affected.

Is Apple planning to ‘sherlock’ Arc?

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 will be in San Francisco on October 28–30, and we’re already excited! This is the startup world’s main event, and it’s where you’ll find the knowledge, tools…

Meet Visa, Mercury, Artisan, Golub Capital and more at TC Disrupt 2024